The Eminent Guardians
by SugarGaL44
Summary: 1000 years after the terrible war between Gods, Humans and Demons, an evil force still threatens Rune Midgard. Cedric, an aspiring Swordsman goes on a quest to find peace. Follow his story, and the tales of those who cross paths with his.
1. Fulfilling a Legend

**Chapter 1: Fulfilling a Legend  
**

* * *

**  
**

_ After the long gruesome war between the Gods, Humans and Demons... Scarred __in the dangerous moments of battle, and avoiding total destruction altogether, the Humans, Gods and Demons entered a long truce._

_The 1000 years of fragile forged peace..._

_ In the land of Rune Midgard, the existence of peace eventually led the humans to erase their memories of the scars and the hardships of the war in the past. Not remembering the faults of the past, a culture was spreading throughout the land - selfishness, corruption and arrogance._

_  
Then one day, strange events started happening, breaking the balance that once existed in Rune Midgard. There came a strange howl from the boundaries that divided the Humans, Gods and Demons; creatures begin attacking; increasing earthquakes and hail and..._

_The mysterious legend of demons..._

_ As the fragile peace begin to fall apart, stories about the parts of Ymir, protecting the peace, begin to spread among the adventurers. Forgetting the true nature of it, people set out to seek each of the pieces for their own selfishness, and the wealth that would come with it..._

_ Years had past. Still, no one had ever sought Ymir, nor enter the Demons' lair, to bring the Human's world back. _

The July sun was shinning brightly down the streets of Prontera on a beautiful afternoon. At the doors of the Spencer's residence, a boy armed with a wooden sword stepped into the silent street. The boy had a thick amount of neat, blonde hair which created ripples as the strong afternoon wind blew his way. His azure blue eyes were sparkling with determination. This young man went by the name of Cedric Spencer.

Cedric grew up learning about the legend which was supposed to be fulfilled by those who trained under the guilds of the Rune Midgard Kingdom. The Novice class is the start of every warrior's journey. It is the most basic job which offers its members skills needed to survive in the dangerous parts of the world. After one had trained long enough, they will branch into the six main guilds – the Swordsman Guild, the Acolyte Order, the Thief Society, the Merchant Union, the Mage Academy, and the Archer Clan. From there, their professions would branch out to two or three advanced jobs.

Many know of the legend and join one of these six guilds, but few had the thoughts of doing what the legend asked for. Many ignore it, but not Cedric. He always believed in this tale since he was a young boy. He believed in the existence of Ymir which was supposed to bring peace to the world and also of the Demons which has to be sealed away.

Cedric had planned it since the beginning. He wanted to be a Knight, just like his brother, Caleb. Although he just turned fifteen last May, he was still inexperienced and had a lot to learn. Cedric was not only taking lessons from his brother, he also attends a special academy for pre-Novices which guides them to choose their profession in the future and the skill of using the weapons. Cedric had learnt a lot from this place. And it was important to gain as much experience as he can before becoming a fully qualified Swordsman, the step to become a Knight.

Cedric and Caleb live together in the quaint little house down the streets of Prontera. Their parents had separated because of their clashing personalities and aspirations. To solve all problems, they left the house to the Spencer brothers before leaving them to fend for themselves. Caleb who was the elder brought up the family with the help of their close neighbours. Cedric idolizes his brother; he was his role-model.

Cedric was an adventurous boy since he was a little kid. He would follow his brother every where he went in hopes of using his wooden sword. Most of the times, he and his brother would take a visit to the nearby forest to hunt for Lunatics. Cedric wasn't much of a hand. Caleb would finish off the fluffy, white rabbits with a slash of his sword while Cedric would wave his sword and point it to the Lunatics, hardly doing any damage to them. It couldn't be helped, and both of them would return home with a handful of rabbits for dinner.

It was impossible for little Cedric to stay still at home. At seven, he sneaked out of town just because he wanted to visit Izlude, the Satellite city of Prontera which was home to the Swordsman Guild. He heard that it was a great building with many tough people coming out as a Swordsman after enduring a series of tests. On the way there, he met a Poring, a jelly-like basic monster. Filled with curiosity, Cedric bent down and poke the Poring as though it was a cuddly toy. This act made the Poring furious, squirting some unknown substance on Cedric, nearly making him pass out. Luckily someone came to the rescue, but to his dismay it was his own brother, Caleb. When Cedric returned home, he was given a good lesson by his brother.

Cedric walked steadily towards a nearby park. He sat down on a bench waiting for a friend. He had promised his friend that he would tell him about his experience of venturing in the Prontera culverts. This rather dangerous sewer was full of Thief Bugs and Familiars, bat-like aggressive monsters. It was an achievement to sneak past the guard who was supposed to be on duty. He even collected some worm peelings and bat teeth to prove that he had been in there. It was a very eventful day and he could not wait to tell his friend about his adventure.

Soon, a girl at the same age of Cedric passed by the bench he was on. She was beautiful, dressed in a lovely turquoise dress, a unique white belt at her waist. The sleeves were of strips which were wrapped around her arm elegantly. Her long, silky hair hung past her chest, the ebony black shade shimmered in the sun. Her fair complexion was augmented by her peach pink cheeks. The most charming thing about this girl was her glowing emerald eyes, shinning and round as a jewel.

The girl took a seat opposite Cedric's, paying a lot of interest to the flower bush next to her bench. Cedric found himself observing at the girl for a long while. His eyes were fixed intently on the girl that he even ignored the familiar calls of his friend.

'Hey Ced, what's the matter with you, can't recognize me?' croaked a boy with his arms crossed. The boy had cinnamon brown eyes and noticeable freckles across his face. He had many features of an ordinary Japanese boy, but all these were overpowered by the fact that he had a head of spiky, sleet white hair. At the same age as Cedric, his name was Hirei Ishiro. This boy's family had supported Cedric and his brother and since then, the two of them were childhood and best friends. Hirei was great at archery and wishes to become a Hunter in the future.

'Ced, Ced!' shouted Hirei while hitting Cedric hard in his ribs. The pain was too hard to bear as Cedric woke up from his deep trance.

'Ouch! Hey, oh… Hello Rei. Sorry, I was… daydreaming,' murmured Cedric as he rose from his seat. Cedric had not put his eyes off the girl.

'Oh,' said Hirei, as he had spotted Cedric's odd behaviour. 'That girl, she just moved here from Geffen with her mum. I can't believe that this was the first time you've seen her. I mean, she just lives right down your street!'

Hirei realized Cedric was not even listening to whatever he said. He became impatient and took Cedric's seat on the bench. He tapped his fingers on the wooden bench while whistling a melody.

Cedric could not put his eyes off the girl. He needed another punch from Hirei to wake up from his slumber. After a long while, his brain finally programmed Hirei's presence. 'Oh um, what were you saying?'

'Oh fine, ignore me all you want,' Hirei shook his head and sighed. He then hesitated for a while before continuing. 'Wanna meet her?'

Cedric raised his eyebrows. 'What do you mean by that?'

'Well, it's really obvious you were _staring_ at the girl,' said Hirei. 'Not those normal stares, if you get what I mean.'

'That… that was just an attraction! I believe every boy would find themselves checking her out too! I mean, which _guy_ wouldn't?' snapped Cedric firmly.

'You got the point there…' said Hirei silently as he tapped his lips. 'But still, you wanna meet her?'

'Well, of course, but it's not like you know-'

'Hey there Penny!' interrupted Hirei without delaying for another second.

'Wait a sec, you _do_ know her?' said Cedric as his mouth was opened in astonishment.

That question was already answered, as the girl was walking towards the boys. To Cedric, it seemed like his world had halted. Someone was giving him an opportunity to think of what he should say to the girl. Cedric thought of a graceful bow, no… that is too formal. Then, he thought of a casual "_Wassup?_", but that is just too laid back isn't it? While he was thinking deeply, glossy locks of long black hair appeared in front of him. Apparently time did not stop and the girl had already made her way to the boys.

'Hey there Hirei.' she said with a mesmerizing voice.

'Hey Penny! What were you doing?' asked Hirei as he grinned widely.

'Oh, nothing… I was just walking in the neighbourhood until-'

Somehow, all sound was muffled in Cedric's ears. The girl was standing right before her. At that moment, it was a situation of pride and situation. What sort of first impression should he make?

'Penny, I would like you to meet my best buddy, Cedric Spencer. Ced, this is Penelope Summers.' introduced Hirei in a matchmaker fashion.

'Hello Cedric, nice to meet you,' said Penelope as she reached out her hand to shake Cedric's hand, a smile forming on her lips.

_ No bows, no _"_Wassups_"_, just the real you Cedric._ 'Hey there Penelope,' said Cedric trying to be himself while talking to the lady. 'The… the sorrow, no, I mean the pleasure is mine.'_ Of all the time to make a joke, especially from the book you just read!_ But to his surprise, Penelope laughed, even her laughter was as pleasant as an angel's voice.

'You're really funny,' said Penelope after laughing. 'You have a really nice friend, Hirei. He's kind of cute.' Cedric, at the moment, was confused. Did Penelope just say that his childish attitude was funny… and cute?

Penelope then spotted Cedric's wooden sword and smiled. 'You're going to be a Swordsman, I assume,' said Penelope as she pointed at Cedric's wooden sword.

'Err… oh, yeah! I wanna follow in my brother's footstep, he's a Knight. I think a Knight is amazing! How about you Penelope?' asked Cedric, getting the conversation going.

'Me? I am learning to be a Priest, like my mother. I want to help the people in need,' said Penelope in a very hopeful voice.

'So… Do you believe in the legend?' asked Cedric.

'Of course,' nodded Penelope, her fist tightened firmly. 'The world is plagued and it must be rescued. I'll do whatever I can to return this world to normal.'

Cedric was pleasantly surprised. Someone actually shared his thoughts. Cedric's inner light bulb glowed as he thought of an idea.

'I just thought of something… Why don't we take apply for the Novice test when all of us are qualified?' Cedric started, excitement building in his face. 'We can go together, we make a great team don't you think? I'll be a Knight, and Rei will be Hunter, and Penelope will be a Priest! What a good combination!'

'Oh, that again, Ced?' Hirei shrugged. 'You never give up hope, huh? But hey, you've got a point. Now that there's Penelope, this can actually work out! I'm in. What do you say, Penny?'

'Me?' said Penelope. She then looked down at the ground, seemingly interested at her shoes at the moment.

'Come on, Penny, I'm sure you won't be able to do this by yourself,' Hirei continued. 'With us, we can make history!'

Penelope raised her head and nodded slowly. '…I agree then.'

'Great! Let's meet here once week and we will have a team meeting. Let's say, come here every Wednesday alright?' cheered Cedric immediately.

'Sure!' said Hirei.

'Why not?' Penelope agreed as she smiled widely.

And so they did. They came to the park weekly for their team meeting as promised. They planned their destination and people they should ask to join. They trained together every week and shared their thoughts together. And they did this for weeks and months.

'So you are ready, huh?' the man with hair in the same blonde shade as his brother Cedric, asked him as he was taking a bite from his toast.

'It'll be today or never, they gave me permission already!' replied Cedric, smiling happily at his elder brother as he proudly showed his results letter from the pre-Novice test. 'All I have to do now is take the real test.'

Caleb nodded slowly and said. 'I guess you are then. I shall help get you there.'

'Thanks bro!' smiled Cedric happily. 'If you are, then finish up your breakfast quickly! Hirei and Penelope are waiting for me at the park!'

Cedric was finally given the permission from the academy to take the Novice test. Hirei and Penelope had got theirs too. They were going to start their journey full of obstacles. After Caleb finished his last toast, he walked into his room and took a long item wrapped in a thick brown cloth. Cedric pointed at it and asked. 'What's that for?'

'You will find out later,' answered Caleb shortly as he hid the item away from Cedric's plain sight. As they were walking out of their house, Cedric saw his brother starring back at their house for a moment.

'Bro, what are you waiting for? Left something behind?' Cedric asked. Caleb shook his head and followed Cedric hurriedly. As they approached the park, they could see an excited boy waving towards their direction.

'Hey Ced! Over here!' cried Hirei happily. Sitting on the bench next to him was Penelope waving at Cedric too. Cedric waved back and ran towards both of them.

'Hey there guys, my brother is gonna guide us there,' said Cedric as he pushed his brother in front of his friends.

Caleb shook his head at Cedric's statement. 'I'm just bringing you there. You will have to go through the test by yourself.'

'Gee! I know that bro!' said Cedric with annoyance. Slowly, he bared a smile, knowing that his brother was just caring for him. 'Thanks… So shall we be leaving?'

'Of course! Let's go!' said Hirei.

'Certainly,' smiled Penelope as she stood up from the bench. A bright light caught Cedric's eyes. He spotted a pendent hanging from Penelope's neck. The stone was shinning brightly in a deep shade of blue with a little ocean glitter.

'What's that?' asked Cedric, pointing at the pendent. 'I've never seen that on you before.'

'This?' said Penelope as she scooped up her pendent and raised it in front of her. 'It's a gift from my mother for this journey. She said that it belonged to my father.'

'That's beautiful…' Cedric said. Penelope simply smiled.

'If you are all ready, then follow my lead,' said Caleb as he was walking away from the park, Cedric and the others followed closely.

Caleb led the group into the heart of the city. As they entered, voices of merchants and blacksmiths could be heard throughout the place, calling out for possible customers to buy their goods.

'G'day, m'lad! Will ye be interested ter sum o' tis armour?' came an eager man's voice and they walked past the merchant's stall. He tried to get Caleb to buy his ware. 'Real fine ones I 'ave 'ere. It'll protect ye greatly. Never seen these failed. It's just 20,000 zeny!'

'I'm sorry sir, but I will have to pass. This chain mail has been my partner and has protected me ever since I was a Knight. I trust it with my life,' replied Caleb, placing a hand on his chain mail which he proudly wore on top of his Knight outfit which came with the Knight's emblem. 'I apologise for not buying your goods. It's a great offer and I thank you for that.'

The merchant was clearly unhappy that Caleb did not even consider looking at his goods. Yet, he did a curtsy, respecting the honest and humble Caleb.

'I'll be seeing ye next time then. Remember ter visit mah shop sometime!' said the merchant waving to Caleb as he walked off. 'I'll be 'ere every day. Tell yer relatives and friends and everyone ye know aite? Just say that you're that Knight an'-' They will never find out what the merchant was offering to them as his voice was drowned by the noise around them.

'That was way cool bro!' said Cedric as he beamed with respect at his brother after they were further away from the stalls. 'You're so great back there!'

Caleb returned his compliment with a smile and continued to walk down the crowded streets of Prontera. It wasn't a rare sight to see Prontera's streets flourished with people, as it was the capital city of the Rune Midgard Kingdom.

'We have arrived at our destination,' said Caleb, stopping as they stood in front a building. He opened the door with his gloved hand and stood aside, waving a hand into the building. 'After you three.'

Cedric and Hirei nodded and entered as Penelope followed, bowing slightly to Caleb. They looked around at the small place; this could not possibly be the Novice Training Grounds, could it?

'Bro, this isn't-' started Cedric.

'This is not the Novice Training Grounds,' nodded Caleb, knowing exactly what Cedric's question was going to be.

'Then what are we-' said Hirei, turning to Caleb.

'Doing here?' interrupted Caleb. 'You can't get to the Novice Training Grounds through feet. And it would take long for us to reach the island. We are here to-'

'-Do you need teleportation services to the Novice Training Grounds, sir?' smiled the girl behind the counter with pale lavender shoulder length hair and a flower hair band. Apparently, she had overheard their conversation.

'You know me best, Jenna,' said Caleb, smiling back. He then turned to the others. 'This is Jenna. She works for the Kafra Corporation. I am sure you all know what their job is, you see them everywhere to assist people. Basically, we are here because-'

'This is the only way to get to the Novice Training Grounds,' said Penelope. Everyone looked at her when she spoke. 'Mum told me… Sorry for interrupting.'

She then turned silent again.

'Since we had all known our purposes here-' started Caleb.

'Wait a sec Caleb,' said Jenna, crossing her arms. 'You haven't introduced them to me.

Caleb nodded. 'Very well. This will be my brother, Cedric Spencer,' said Caleb.

'Um, hello there,' Cedric said as he smiled.

'I see that you're a Knight Wannabe too,' smiled Jenna. 'You're pretty cute yourself, blonde hair, blue eyes, just like your brother. Err, carry on,' Jenna quickly said when she saw the stern look on Caleb's face.

'This is Hirei Ishiro,' continued Caleb as Hirei smiled warmly Jenna. Jenna returned the smile with a you-are-kinda-cute-too face. 'And this lady here is Penelope Summers.'

Penelope did a deep bow and Jenna nodded. 'I think that will be it and we will need our transportation now,' said Caleb. He then bent down to Cedric and said. 'Cedric, once you are there, you will be on your own-'

'With Hirei and Penelope,' corrected Cedric.

'With Hirei and Penelope, yes. My meaning is that I will not be there to guide you through. After your training, you will start your journey with your friends to-'

'And you too bro!' corrected Cedric again.

Caleb's smile faded. 'I… guess I will,' answered Caleb, hesitating. 'But promise me that you will take care of you and your friends and don't do anything rash. You are known to act without thinking.'

'You don't have to say that!'

'And you will need to behave yourself and grow up. Heed other people's advice, they will come in handy one day. And-'

'Caleb…' said Jenna softly. 'They really have to get going.'

'Yes, you are right Jenna,' said Caleb slowly. 'But please, I need some more time…'

Now, Caleb took out the long item he had brought with him in the ragged brown cloth. With two hands, he gave it to his brother. Cedric took it with both his hands and asked. 'Bro this is-'

'This will be a gift from me Cedric,' said Caleb, lifting his hand off the item, allowing Cedric to carry all its weight. 'But open this only on the day you turn Knight. Please, promise me only this. Meanwhile, keep it with you wherever you go.'

'Alright… bro,' said Cedric. He started to observe the item, wondering what is hidden behind the cloth. He looked at it as if he had x-ray vision.

'C'mon Ced, let's get going,' said Hirei as he tugged Cedric's sleeves.

'We should, Cedric,' Penelope agreed.

'Very well then,' said Jenna, walking out from the counter. She took a few steps to the left and faced the wall. Tapping the wall softly in some sequence, the wall started shaking and revealing a door.

'This door will take you to the Novice Training Grounds,' said Jenna. 'Our representatives will send you back here after you had finished,' She then opened the door and bowed deeply. 'Thank you for using our service and please come back to Kafra Corporation again. Till then, have a nice day!'

Cedric turned and looked at his brother again as Hirei was pulling him into the door. 'Bye bro! Wait for us!'

'Farewell, my brother,' said Caleb softly.

* * *

**Author Notes:**

Hello! It's SugarGaL here! This is my first fan fiction I've written. I'm not the best at this either. I had this story in my mind for a few years already, and started writing it since then.(with lots of ugly grammar...) I've posted it on deviantART, but I never had the guts to post it here. Finally, after encouragement from my friend, Here. It. Is. braces self for reviews

The first part of the chapter in italic was taken from the so called "introduction" of the original Ragnarok Online game. I thought that it would be good if I included it and start off from there. The first chapter(with a rather bad title ;;) is a little slow paced. But don't worry, I assure you that it would be better! By the way, take note of the length of my fan fiction. It will be quite long. I'm planning on writing character one-shots too. Depending on how this is accepted by the readers, I'll put up the second chapter!

Hope you enjoy it!


	2. Where It All Started

**Chapter 2: Where It All Started**

* * *

They felt a tickling sensation at the back of their spine. After a moment, Cedric, Hirei and Penelope materialized on a lone island at an unknown area. The journey beyond the door felt numb. Cedric opened his eyes slowly, finding a bridge in front of them leading to a huge building. The building was magnificent, painted in bold vermillion with roofs that reflected the sun rays.

'Wow, that's the Novice Training Grounds?' said Cedric as he shielded his eyes from the bight sunlight.

'It must be! C'mon!' said Hirei from behind him. He then started running towards the building.

'Wait a second Hirei!' Penelope called. But he was already running across the bridge far ahead.

'That Rei,' Cedric shook his head. 'Come on Penelope, let's go!'

Both of them followed behind Hirei and reached in front of the entrance. It was a tall mahogany door with silver handles. It was opened ajar as Hirei had already entered the building. Cedric and Penelope entered and were welcomed with a surprise.

'This is awesome!' said Cedric in awe. The entrance hall looked like a lobby from a five star hotel. The walls seem like they were gleaming and the floor was sparkling. Scattered across the hall were several young people just like Cedric and his friends.

'I didn't expect all this!' said Penelope. 'This is so grand!'

Far ahead, they could see a figure waving at them. 'Hey! Get over here!' called Hirei.

Cedric and Penelope walked across the hall and joined Hirei. 'You guys are slow,' teased Hirei.

'That's because you ran off without us!' Cedric frowned as he nudged Hirei lightly.

'Alright, alright, sorry 'kay?' said Hirei. 'Anyway, this guy here said that he is gonna be the guide for our training here.'

Their attention turned to the big man behind Hirei. He had messy black hair and quite a small head for his large body. He had a tough guy look; his muscles were augmented by his crossed arms. 'Welcome to the Novice Training Grounds, where you guys are going to go through training to be a qualified Novice,' he said with his husky voice. He seemed like he was trying very hard to sound interested. 'The name's Leonard. And I'm your guide for your training. There will be tasks for you to do and I am the one who keeps track of all the things you do here. Get it?' He then handed them each a file with forms for them to fill up. 'Fill up the details and I'll get you started, alright?'

Cedric looked down at the form and saw all the usual details along with a column for "representative's-use". _Name, date of birth, gender… Wait, there's a space for profession and weapon of choice too. Well, that's not surprising._ Three of them filled up the details in minutes.

'Done?' Leonard collected the files from each of them.

'Don't you need to check our certificate from the pre-Novice academy?' asked Cedric as he started to rummage through his bag for a particular paper.

'Nah, I don't need to. The Kafra rep on your side had informed us already. Either way, it wouldn't make much difference,' Leonard said, his small eyes started scanning through the details on the files. 'So… Cedric, Hirei and Penelope eh? Alright, follow me and we'll start your training.'

They followed Leonard through the wide corridor and were amazed by the grand Training Grounds. There were many doors on either sides of the hallway, all which are sealed tightly. They even walked pass a large staircase, telling them that the Training Grounds was much larger.

'This is quite straight-forward isn't it?' whispered Penelope.

'Well, the faster the better,' Cedric whispered back.

After a short walk, they reached in front of a room labelled "Lecture Room IV". 'Wait a sec, why are we getting "lectured"?' said Hirei.

'Well, aren't you here to learn?' said Leonard. 'It starts with theory, so just stick with it. Get in and start your lesson. And enjoy.' He ended with a rather evil smirk.

Hirei is clearly not happy about it.

'This is taking so long! We should be done by now!' said Hirei throwing a twig into the fire. The light illuminated the area greatly as it was a moonless night.

'Hirei, we have to start from basics,' said Penelope patiently.

'I wanna shoot an arrow already! All they gave us was long speeches and lame quizzes, we know those already! Not only that, we had to-' he continued to complain as Cedric was starring at the glimmering sky with his brother's gift in his hand.

'Bro… Just you wait, we will be back soon…'

'-with fake wooden dummies! Oh don't you get pissed off Ced? … Ced?'

Hirei and Penelope were looking at Cedric as he was starring at the sky. 'Err, you were saying?' said Cedric.

'Bah, forget about it…' grumbled Hirei poking a stick into the flames.

'Hirei, you have to be more patient,' said Penelope. 'I'm sure they made us do this for a reason. We will get to do some practical work tomorrow. We did use wooden sticks today after all. And they are made us cook our own dinner tonight too.'

'What does cooking our own dinner have to do with anything?' Hirei retorted. 'I say that they are just saving their cash and time on food!'

'It means that they want us to try and make our own food through "traveller" means,' Penelope explained. 'We aren't guaranteed fresh food everywhere we're going. Making fire is the only way to cook raw food. We're getting there soon.'

'Hopefully,' Hirei broke the stick in his hand with irritation.

'ARGH!' Hirei cursed angrily when the hot end of the stick burnt his hand. He threw the stick hardly on the floor. 'They forgot to supply us with first aid kits!'

'You don't find first aid kits everywhere either. Anyway, let's get back inside, it's getting late,' said Penelope, changing the topic as Hirei's face changed too.

'Back for more, huh?' said Leonard when they came to find him the next morning.

'Obviously, we're not going till we get to learn some _real_ stuff,' snapped Hirei.

Leonard snorted. 'Hah! With your attitude, I thought you'd be gone by the fourth lecture!' he collected their files and started to tick stuff off the list. 'Now let's see what you got. Ah, more learning. What'dya think?'

Hirei gave him a hostile glare with his arms crossed. He looked like a Poring that was about to burst. 'Hah! I'm just joking!' laughed Leonard. 'Come on, it's the Fabre Forest next. Follow me.'

'Y-you serious?' Hirei asked, pleasantly surprised. Leonard replied with a nod. 'YEAH!'

Once again, they walked down the never ending corridors and reached a hall. There was a big door very similar to the one at the main entrance.

'Here we are,' said Leonard. 'This will be your next task. Through the door is the Fabre Forest. As the name implies, it is a forest which is filled with Fabres. As you know, Fabres are basic worm-like monsters. Your job is to find your way out of the forest while passing through all the Fabres. Each of you will get a knife-' Leonard gave the trio a knife each. '-as your weapons. I'm sure I don't have to explain to you how to use it. So you guys can get going now!'

'Let's get going then!' Cedric said as they went through the large doors. They found themselves in the outdoors. Tall pine trees could be seen everywhere and there was no specific path to follow. Fabres could be seen wandering about the ground, doing what worms do.

Suddenly, a squishy sound was heard. Cedric and Penelope turned around, only to see Hirei holding his knife with some slimy substance on it and a foot on…

'You squished the Fabre?'

Hirei grinned at them and said. 'That's the way it goes. Come on! Let's find the exit and squish more Fabres on the way!'

Cedric, Hirei and Penelope were walking through the forest, killing more of the poor Fabres as they find their way out. Hirei was stabbing the Fabres with delight as Cedric and Penelope were enjoying the stroll.

After awhile of walking and killing, they started to get tired. 'Where is the exit?' said Cedric as he slashed his twenty third Fabre.

'This isn't meant to be an easy task,' said Penelope, collecting the fluffs dropped by the Fabre. The monster's drops were worth money among the merchants.

Hirei once again was growing impatient. 'This is boring!'

Cedric cleaned the slime off his knife and said. 'I thought this was what you were waiting for.'

'But all we get to kill are all these… bugs!' said Hirei. 'And I was expecting more! Can't something interesting happen?'

'AAAAAHH!'

'What was that?' said Hirei, turning to the direction of the scream.

'That is your interesting thing happening,' said Penelope with a sarcastic tone.

'Let's go check it out,' Cedric said.

Cedric, Hirei and Penelope followed to direction of the sound. The sound was very loud and it felt like it was echoing around. It made it hard to decide which direction the voice was coming from. They came to a glade and saw a young girl with brown hair plaited in two on the ground with a Fabre closing up to her.

'Ah! Get away from me!' she waved her knife at the little Fabre. She was so timid that she could not even bear to kill the little critter. Hirei raised his knife and skilfully threw it at the Fabre. It hit the Fabre and it wiggled around, slime oozing out. The girl winced as the Fabre stopped moving and finally died.

Hirei retrieved his knife and asked the girl. 'You alright?'

'EEYAH! Who are you?' she pointed her knife at Hirei and continued to scream. 'Don't come near me! Don't hurt me!'

She was crying so loudly that the ground started to shake. It was very stunning and Hirei took a step away from her. 'Calm down! We mean no harm!'

'Get away from me!'

It was not an earthquake; it was something even more extraordinary. It felt very weird; stones around the girl were vibrating and the trees seem like they shaking. There was a very eerie aura going on that made a strange tingle at Cedric's spines. Suddenly, the stones were floating around her in the air.

'What the heck?' said Cedric. The stones flung themselves towards the trio and Cedric raised his hands in front of him to shield him from the stones.

'Leave me alone!'

The trees were shaking and acorns fell on them. 'Please listen, we aren't going to harm you,' said Penelope as she slowly approached the girl. Carefully, she placed a hand gently on the girl's back.

The girl pushed Penelope's hand off and started to scream again. 'Don't touch me!' She was certainly frightened by the looks of it. Larger rocks were floating now and started to attack them.

'We just want to help you,' said Penelope once again. 'Please calm down and listen to us.'

The girl stopped crying. One by one, the stones started to drop back onto the ground. She looked at Penelope with her tear-filled ocean green eyes. Penelope wiped off her tears gently and said. 'There you go. See? We aren't going to harm you. Everything is alright.'

'And then you can tell us what just happened,' said Hirei dusting off the leaves on his white hair.

'Hirei…' frowned Penelope and she glared at him. She then turned back to the girl. 'My name is Penelope. The boy there is Cedric and the other is Hirei.'

'Um… I'm Aalaiyah, nice to meet you,' she said.

'You sound familiar…' said Penelope, looking at Aalaiyah. 'You look quite familiar too.'

Aalaiyah simply gave a little smile. 'Maybe you know me from somewhere. Oh and I'm very sorry about just now… I was a little afraid then. I couldn't control myself…'

'What was that anyway?' asked Cedric, walking towards them.

'Um, it was my nothing!' Aalaiyah blurted out as she stood up. 'Just a little of my powers going out of control… Really, it's nothing to worry about! Um… are you guys by any chance trying to find your way out?'

'Yeah, we've been in here for quite awhile already. Have you found the exit?' asked Cedric.

'Well, before that Fabre crept up my leg, I thought I saw a door down-'

'Where, where, there?' Hirei blurted quickly as he started looking around for the door.

'Um, over there,' pointed Aalaiyah to an opening. 'But there's a-'

But Hirei was running towards the opening before Aalaiyah finished.

'Wait up Rei!' said Cedric chasing after Hirei. Penelope and Aalaiyah followed behind him. Aalaiyah had a worried face on her.

'What the…'

Cedric heard Hirei and quickly catch up to him. His feet felt something on the floor. It was a knife, _Hirei's_knife. He started to tremble as he raised his head and saw Hirei facing a huge and vicious Mandragora. Hirei was entangled tightly around his ankles and arms by the plant monster's vines. 'Ced, get away from here…' said Hirei struggling to free himself. 'I'm fine. Go on, quick!'

Penelope and Aalaiyah who just arrived gasped in fear. 'Hirei!' cried Penelope. Aalaiyah started screaming, sending stones towards the Mandragora. However, the vines on Hirei tightened it's just tightened its grip.

'Just leave!' said Hirei.

'How am I supposed to leave you here alone? I wouldn't be Cedric Spencer if I did that!' Cedric ran to the front with his knife and started to hack through the vines. He then cut off the vines on Hirei. More vines appeared and creep up Cedric's leg.

'Get… off… me!' Cedric slashed off the vines and continued to rescue Hirei. Penelope helped too, as she tried to fight her way towards the plant. She thrust her knife into the Mandragora and it made an unpleasant sound.

'I hit it!' said Penelope. But she then saw a vine appeared and it whipped her hard. Penelope fall to her knees, the Mandragora was still alive.

'It's too strong!' said Cedric, still getting out of the vines. 'This is one big Herbology problem!'

'Step… aside…'

The group turned around and saw Aalaiyah with glowing eyes. A faint aura could be felt around her. She was lifting a huge boulder with her telekinesis power. She used all her strength and send the boulder towards the Mandragora. Hirei and Cedric ducked as Penelope moved out of the way. It landed right on the Mandragora and squished it. The Mandragora made screeching sounds. Its vines loosen and it died.

'You did it Aalaiyah! You killed the Mandragora!' cheered Penelope.

'You're amazing!' said Hirei as he and Cedric free themselves from the vines.

Aalaiyah breathlessly said. 'I… I did it… I did it! I… I can't believe it!' She dropped to the floor. 'I did it…'

'You saved us there!' said Cedric as Penelope helped Aalaiyah up. 'Thank you very much.'

'It's… nothing, really,' smiled Aalaiyah.

'What was that anyway?' Penelope asked kindly. 'You lifted the large boulder without even carrying it!'

Aalaiyah bit her lips. She seems to be hiding something before. 'Er… I don't know how to say this…' she started. 'It's actually my telekinesis power… I had these powers since birth when I was a baby. I don't really have control over it, not yet at least… That's why the pebbles attacked all of you before…'

The trio's mouths were slightly opened. They then snapped out when Penelope spoke. 'Wow… That must be quite some power!'

'Yeah, it must be awesome!' Hirei added.

Aalaiyah smiled rather nervously, not knowing what to say.

'Anyway, let's get in already!'

'And curse them for that Mandragora!'

'Hirei!'

They got back into the building and they saw Leonard sitting comfortably on a sofa. 'Ah, I've been waiting. You guys take long,' he said.

'We would have been done if it wasn't because of that Mandragora!' said Hirei. 'What's that Mandragora doing in a Fabre Forest?'

'It's a challenge,' said Leonard. 'To give you a taste of the real thing. Things aren't what you expect it to be because we say so. Unexpected things always happen in the real world. So be prepared and expect the unexpected.'

'Ah, Miss Wingstaff! You're back too!' said Leonard turning to Aalaiyah, speaking very politely to her 'I see you followed them. I was getting worried that you might not make it.'

'Why are you treating her so differently from us? You're playing favourites!' said Hirei.

'Miss Wingstaff is a much different case from you,' said Leonard, turning back to Aalaiyah. 'Your father will get me if you didn't make it back safely. I was afraid you can't get pass the Mandragora. This is really unexpected!'

'Well, expect the unexpected, Aalaiyah was the one who rid the Mandragora,' said Cedric.

'Miss Wingstaff! Is that true? Your parents will be proud!'

'Um, thank you Mister Mare, I'm just lucky to meet them,' said Aalaiyah. 'And it's alright, you can call me Aalaiyah.'

'Oh yes, Miss Aalaiyah,' said Leonard. 'How very humble of you.'

Aalaiyah just smiled. He then took out their files and said. 'Now, back to business, you've completed the Fabre Forest task,' He updated their files and started to smile. 'Well, you can start cheering, you guys have just completed your training!'

'Yeah!' cheered Hirei.

'We did it!'

Leonard smiled at them and said. 'Well, it's nice to see that you guys made it. I'll have to get you your qualification letters or else none of the guilds will take you in. Meanwhile, plan of what profession you're choosing.'

'We've planned that much earlier,' said Hirei. 'I'm gonna be an Archer, Cedric's gonna be a Swordsman and Penelope's an Acolyte. Aalaiyah is… err…'

'Oh yeah, which job are you choosing, Aalaiyah?' asked Cedric. 'An Acolyte will fit you I think, seeing that you're so nice and supportive and all.'

'Um, I'm going to become a Mage,' said Aalaiyah.

'Why?' said Hirei. 'You don't look like one. You seem more like an Acolyte.'

'Hey! Miss Aalaiyah has the Wizard blood in her you know,' said Leonard. 'She has to accept her fate as one.'

Aalaiyah just nodded slowly in reply.

Cedric turned to Leonard and asked. 'How long do we have to wait? I really wanna return to Prontera soon.'

'Well, it might take a while,' said Leonard. 'But I'm sure it'll be done when we get there. Come on, let's get moving.' They started to walk down the same corridors again.

'It must be tough, Aalaiyah,' said Penelope while they were walking.

'Ah, why?'

'You see like you have no choice but to be a Mage,' she explained

'Well, I came from a line of Wizards. I have to accept my fate as one,' said Aalaiyah. 'But it's not like I hate it, I like it a lot actually. And I didn't think much about this job choosing thing, so I didn't really mind much.'

'Where should we go after this?' said Cedric.

'I dunno, we can get me to Payon to become an Archer,' said Hirei.

'Hey, you're being selfish! Payon's a long journey. I wanna get to the Swordsman Guild to be a swordsman too,' said Cedric. 'I'm sure Penelope wants to head to the Prontera Church to be an Acolyte.'

'Why don't we discuss about this after we get to Prontera?' said Penelope. 'We won't get to anywhere like this.'

Cedric and Hirei looked at each other then decided to skip the topic. Cedric then said. 'So when we get back to Prontera, we're gonna officially form our party! Then we'll get all those people we want to join us. I like a variety of talents and jobs.'

'The problem is who is going to join our party?' said Hirei. 'There are a ton of parties out there, we can't guarantee that people would wanna join us.'

'It will work out by itself I'm sure,' said Cedric confidently. 'Slowly but surely.'

'We should start raising some funds for our journey,' said Penelope. 'I can sell all our loot to Uncle David, he'll buy them, even if just for a little zeny, it'll help.'

'And I can ask _oka-san_ to give me some zeny,' said Hirei. 'I'm sure she'll give me some.'

'And mother will spare me some zeny,' said Penelope.

'And bro will help us too!' said Cedric happily.

'Whoa, you guys must've chatted a lot,' said Leonard out of the sudden. The group had just only noticed that they had arrived in front of a door. 'Let's get in now, shall we?'

The room was labelled "The End". '"The End"? What does that mean?' asked a cautious Hirei.

'Well, you won't know if you enter right?' said Leonard. 'I'll follow behind.'

They entered cautiously, wondering what was inside. The room was pitched black and it was so quiet that they could hear Aalaiyah's deep breaths. Penelope slowly stroked her back to calm her down.

Suddenly, there was a flash of light and an aged man with a crown and royal costume stood in front of them.

'Congratulations, young adventurers,' the man said with a steady voice. 'You have went through the official Novice Training Test and succeeded in it.'

'K-King Tristan the Third?' said Hirei stammering. Immediately, he got onto his knee and bowed his head lowly. Cedric merely looked at the King with respect.

'Ced! Get on your knee!' whispered Hirei as he tugged Cedric to the floor.

Leonard snorted. 'It's just a hologram,'

'I… Wait a sec, it's a what?' said Hirei.

'A hologram, silly,' he said laughing.

'I… Well, hologram or not, you still gotta show some respect!' said Hirei defensively.

'Suit yourself,' said Leonard.

'I am very proud of each of you,' the hologram of King Tristan the Third continued. 'And I wish that you will continue to improve your skills and hopefully, be the one to recover the Rune Migard Kingdom from the dreaded demons.

'You have gained my permission and authorization to journey as a qualified Novice and to join any guild you wish. Do continue to progress yourself to be a better warrior. Good luck in your journey.'

The hologram then disappeared, leaving behind four shiny insignias behind. It was the official Novice insignia.

'Wow! We're Novices now!' said Hirei standing up and picking up one of the four insignias. He proudly wore it on his chest.

Cedric, Penelope and Aalaiyah then took one each, too. Cedric gaze happily at the insignia as it flashed brightly even in the dark.

'Congrats!' said Leonard. 'You've become an official Novice. Oh well, I guess it's time that you guys have to leave… Ah, I enjoyed teasing you guys.'

'Very funny…' said Hirei sarcastically.

'Anyways, if you guys are ready, I will send you guys back to Prontera,' said Leonard. 'Oh, Miss Aalaiyah, I have received orders from your father to send you straight back to Geffen. Someone will be waiting for your return and bring you back to-'

'I'm following Cedric, Hirei and Penelope to Prontera,' said Aalaiyah. 'Please…'

Leonard gasped and the rest looked equally surprised. 'B-But Miss Aalaiyah! Your father-'

'I'm sure father wouldn't mind,' said Aalaiyah. 'He's my father after all… Please, sir, help me apologize to my father, and tell him that I will return to Geffen.'

'Aalaiyah…' stammered Penelope. 'Are… are you sure?'

'I've made my decision, Penelope,' said Aalaiyah smiling. 'I've heard your discussions, I want to help you.'

'Thank you Aalaiyah,' said Cedric.

Aalaiyah smiled and Leonard started to worry. 'Err, okay… Then, um… Prontera… Yes…' he walked to the centre of the room and snapped a little stone. The dust fell onto the floor and he placed a hand on the floor, mumbling softly. Weird symbols appeared out of the floor in a circle, white lights flashing out of the place Leonard had his palm on. Then, a portal appeared.

'This is it…' said Leonard, standing out of the way. 'This portal will bring you to Prontera. It was nice knowing you guys…'

'Nice knowing you too, Leonard,' said Hirei. He took a step forward. 'Leaving now?'

Cedric turned to Penelope and Aalaiyah. Both of them nodded. 'Sure,' he said. He then shook Leonard's hand. 'Hope we'll meet again.'

'Sure,' said Leonard. 'We'll definitely meet again. See ya guys!'

Four of them stood around the circle. They looked at each other and Cedric said. 'On the count of three. One, two-'

'Wait a sec! Our-' said Hirei out of the sudden.

'-Three!'

What Hirei wanted to say, they do not know. They had already entered the portal together and left the Novice Training Grounds.

* * *

**Author's Notes:**

It's SugarGaL again! I posted the second chapter although the response was cold... If you're reading this, please do leave a rewiew! I appreciate it! The story might be slow at the moment, but I promise it'll get much more interesting further in the story.


End file.
